philanthropy – News Stories About philanthropy - Page 3

Think the World Is Mean? UCLA Institute Seeks 'Antidote'

Think the World Is Mean?
$20M Given to Find 'Antidote'

Sep 27, 2019 6:28 AM CDT

Think the World Is Mean? $20M Given to Find 'Antidote'

Thanks to philanthropic gift, UCLA sets up institute dedicated to promoting kindness

(Newser) - Life can be rough, but UCLA hopes to offer a remedy. Live Science reports that, thanks to a $20 million gift from the Bedari Foundation, the university has set up the UCLA Bedari Kindness Institute. The institute will "take an interdisciplinary approach to understanding kindness—through evolutionary, biological, psychological,...

MacKenzie Bezos: I'll Give Until 'the Safe Is Empty'

MacKenzie Bezos' 'Revealing'
Move After Divorce From Jeff

May 28, 2019 8:32 AM CDT

MacKenzie Bezos' 'Revealing' Move After Divorce From Jeff

Amazon CEO's ex-wife just signed Giving Pledge, vowing to donate at least half of her wealth

(Newser) - MacKenzie Bezos just opened up her wallet big time, and she's sharing her reason why. "I have a disproportionate amount of money to share," the ex-wife of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos noted in her letter signing on to the Giving Pledge , a commitment by some of the...

Meet the Man Behind That Astonishing College Offer

Behind College Offer: The
Richest Black Person in US

the rundown

May 20, 2019 12:20 PM CDT

Behind College Offer: The Richest Black Person in US

Robert F. Smith is paying off the class debt at Morehouse College

(Newser) - It will be hard to top as a commencement speech going forward. Billionaire Robert F. Smith told 2019 graduates of Atlanta's Morehouse College in his speech Sunday that he would pay off all their student loans. Morehouse is a historically black college, and Smith is considered to be the...

These Top World Leaders Have Something in Common

Fortune Names 10
Best World Leaders

Apr 19, 2019 10:18 AM CDT

Fortune Names 10 Best World Leaders

Jacinda Ardern cracks top 10, as does Robert Mueller

(Newser) - As Fortune sees it, the world's greatest leaders share one thing in common: They have courage to "make bold choices" and take personal risks, whether a journalist reporting under threat of death in South Sudan or a nation's leader expressing compassion when faced with the opposite. Such...

Celeb Inspires Oprah to
Send $2M to Puerto Rico

Apr 9, 2019 8:42 AM CDT

Celeb Inspires Oprah to Send $2M to Puerto Rico

'The needs of Puerto Rico … are still very real'

(Newser) - Lin-Manuel Miranda didn't just raise $15 million for artists in bringing Hamilton to Puerto Rico . He also inspired a friend. Oprah Winfrey has donated $2 million to relief efforts in the US territory hit hard by Hurricane Maria in September 2017, reports Entertainment Tonight . "I was so moved...

Sackler Family Hears
Bad News All Week

the Rundown

Mar 22, 2019 1:31 PM CDT

Sackler Family Hears Bad News All Week

Lawsuit targets family who made a fortune on OxyContin as museums say 'no thanks'

(Newser) - From the outside, it appears that life has been good—and fabulously profitable—for the Sackler family since the launch of OxyContin in 1995. The Sacklers, whose Purdue Pharma produces the drug, have made their philanthropic mark with well-publicized, large donations to universities and art galleries even as the opioid...

Social Worker Patched Shoes
With Duct Tape, Left $11M

Dec 28, 2018 6:23 AM CST

Social Worker Patched Shoes With Duct Tape, Left $11M

Friends were shocked to find that frugal Alan Naiman had amassed a fortune before he died

(Newser) - Alan Naiman was known for an unabashed thriftiness that veered into the comical, but even those closest to him had no inkling of the fortune he quietly amassed and the last act he'd long planned. The Washington state social worker died of cancer this year at age 63, leaving...

What Crouching
Tiger Actor Plans
on Doing With
His $715M

Dec 24, 2018 11:55 AM CST

What Crouching Tiger Actor Plans on Doing With His $715M

Chow Yun-fat says his wife is OK if he gives it all to charity when he dies

(Newser) - Amid the stories of good fortune emerging at the end of the year, one more to wrap things up—this time, involving a famous Hong Kong actor and some eventually very lucky recipients. The Guardian reports that Chow Yun-fat, the 63-year-old star best known here in the US for his...

Bollywood Star Pays
Debts of 1.4K Farmers

Nov 27, 2018 10:15 AM CST

Bollywood Star Pays Debts of 1.4K Farmers

They lack 'basic necessities,' says Amitabh Bachchan

(Newser) - Amitabh Bachchan, one of the highest paid actors in Bollywood, briefly mentioned his desire to help farmers after one appeared as a contestant on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, which he hosts. And boy, did he follow through. The actor, who's appeared in some...

Man Will Hand
$1K Check to Each
Paradise High Student

Nov 26, 2018 10:45 AM CST

Man Will Hand $1K Check to Each Paradise High Student

San Diego businessman was moved by their plight

(Newser) - A San Diego businessman is donating $1 million in the wake of Northern California's devastating Camp Fire—but he's doing so in an unconventional way. Bob Wilson, 89, plans to pass out $1,000 checks on Tuesday to each of the 980 students and 105 staff members from...

Why JetBlue Is Flying
People for Free

Oct 20, 2018 10:40 AM CDT

Why JetBlue Is Flying People for Free

It has to do with helping others

(Newser) - You can fly free in November, if you like surprises. JetBlue plans to fly a plane-load of people to an unknown destination Nov. 27 to volunteer for an unknown cause for three days, USA Today reports. Anyone over 18 can apply here by Oct. 26 if they're willing to...

Flint Thanks
Elon Musk for
a Promise Kept

Oct 10, 2018 10:10 AM CDT

Flint Thanks Elon Musk for a Promise Kept

Donation will pay for water filtration systems at schools

(Newser) - Clean drinking water—it's an underappreciated luxury coming at long last to students in Flint, Mich., thanks to Elon Musk. Following his July vow to assist in the Flint water crisis, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO and the Musk Foundation donated $480,350 to the Flint City School District,...

Laurene Powell Jobs Is
on Her Own Mission Now

longform

Jun 12, 2018 10:55 AM CDT

Laurene Powell Jobs Is on Her Own Mission Now

Widow of Steve Jobs is investing in various fields though her Emerson Collective

(Newser) - She's 54, the widow of Steve Jobs, one of the richest women on the planet, and the founder and driving force behind what might be "the most influential product of Silicon Valley that you've never heard of," according to a lengthy profile in the Washington Post ...

Frugal Secretary
Dies at 96, Leaves an
'Oh My God' Moment

Frugal Secretary Dies at 96, Leaves an 'Oh My God' Moment

Sylvia Bloom surprised everyone with the $9M fortune she'd amassed, then donated

(Newser) - When Sylvia Bloom died at the age of 96 in 2016, her niece experienced an "oh my God" moment. "I realized she had millions and she had never mentioned a word," says Jane Lockshin, also the executor of Bloom's estate. More than $9 million, in fact,...

University Donors Want
$100M Gift Returned

Mar 7, 2018 11:57 AM CST

University Donors Want $100M Gift Returned

Suit claims U of Chicago hasn't followed 2015 agreement

(Newser) - A $100 million donation to the University of Chicago, meant to fund research on global conflict resolution, is now at the center of a conflict itself. With a lawsuit filed late last month, the Pearson Family Members Foundation aims to reclaim what would be the third-largest donation in the university'...

Drake Drops $200K
on Strangers
in Miami

Feb 15, 2018 11:52 AM CST

Drake Drops $200K on Strangers in Miami

Good deeds will feature in upcoming music video

(Newser) - Further showing Canadians to be oh so nice, rapper Drake surprised a hotel maid with a spa visit, a lobster dinner, and a $10,000 shopping spree—though, to be fair, Odelie Paret truly deserved it. The mother of five, born in Haiti, has spent that last 20 years cleaning...

Warren Buffett Just
Gave Away $3.2B

Jul 11, 2017 7:14 AM CDT

Warren Buffett Just Gave Away $3.2B

Largest chunk to go to Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

(Newser) - Warren Buffett remains the fourth-richest person in the world, but his pockets are now significantly lighter. As part of his annual giving spree, the billionaire announced Monday he would donate $3.17 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock to five charities. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will receive the largest...

His $1K Investment Became
$2M. Then He Gave It All Away

Jun 5, 2017 11:02 AM CDT

His $1K Investment Became $2M. Then He Gave It All Away

'You have to do some good in this world,' says Russ Gremel

(Newser) - It cost Chicago's Russ Gremel $1,007 to buy almost 28,000 shares in local company Walgreens some 70 years ago. Today, those shares are worth $2 million, but Gremel isn't enjoying the payoff of his good investment—at least not in the traditional sense. Instead, he's...

Amazon Is Putting
a Homeless Shelter
in Its New HQ

May 10, 2017 2:57 PM CDT

Amazon Is Putting a Homeless Shelter in Its New HQ

The move is being called the company's 'biggest philanthropic venture to date'

(Newser) - Amazon has announced what the Seattle Times is calling its "biggest philanthropic venture to date." Inside an office building at its new Seattle headquarters will be 47,000 square feet of space dedicated to a homeless shelter known as Mary's Place. Since April 2016, Amazon has allowed...

Little Caesars
Founder Quietly
Paid the Rent
of Rosa Parks

Feb 16, 2017 9:50 AM CST

Little Caesars Founder Quietly Paid the Rent of Rosa Parks

Story resurfaces about the late Mike Ilitch and his generosity

(Newser) - The death of Mike Ilitch , founder of Little Caesars, has brought back into the public eye a little-known story about his hometown philanthropy in Detroit: Back in 1994, he began covering the rent for civil rights icon Rosa Parks. That year, Parks had been robbed and assaulted in her central...